Shopping facility assistance systems, devices and methods

Abstract

Apparatuses, components and methods are provided herein useful to provide assistance to customers and/or workers in a shopping facility. In some embodiments, a shopping facility personal assistance system comprises: a plurality of motorized transport units located in and configured to move through a shopping facility space; a plurality of user interface units, each corresponding to a respective motorized transport unit during use of the respective motorized transport unit; and a central computer system having a network interface such that the central computer system wirelessly communicates with one or both of the plurality of motorized transport units and the plurality of user interface units, wherein the central computer system is configured to control movement of the plurality of motorized transport units through the shopping facility space based at least on inputs from the plurality of user interface units.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A shopping facility personal assistance system comprising:
 a plurality of motorized transport units located in and configured to move through a shopping facility space; and 
 a central computer system having a network interface, wherein the central computer system is configured to: wirelessly communicate through the network interface with the plurality of motorized transport units and with a plurality of user interface units each exclusively associated with a particular user of a plurality of users; temporarily associate each of the plurality of user interface units with a respective one of the plurality of motorized transport units while the respective motorized transport unit is to be used to support the respective user associated with the respective user interface unit; and control movement of the plurality of motorized transport units through the shopping facility space based at least on inputs from the respective user interface unit that is temporarily associated with the respective motorized transport unit. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units comprises an integrated item container. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units is configured to detachably connect to a movable item container and configured to move the movable item container through the shopping facility space in supporting the respective user temporarily associated with the at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 3  wherein the at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units is configured to move to a position underneath the movable item container and extend a portion of the at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units upward to engage the movable item container and lift a portion of the movable item container. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 3  wherein the plurality of user interface units comprise one or both of at least one shopping facility provided unit and a user's mobile smart electronic device. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1  wherein the system further comprises:
 each of the plurality of motorized transport units comprises at least one light receiver; and 
 a location control unit configured to determine a location of at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units in the shopping facility space based at least on signals from the at least one light receiver of the at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units. 
 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 6  further comprising:
 a plurality of light sources distributed throughout the shopping facility space and configured to emit light signals encoding a light source identifier; 
 a plurality of low energy radio beacons distributed throughout the shopping facility space and configured to emit radio signals encoding one or more radio beacon identifiers; and 
 a plurality of audio beacons distributed throughout the shopping facility space and configured to emit audio signals encoding one or more audio beacon identifiers. 
 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 1  wherein each of the plurality of motorized transport units comprises a distance measurement unit configured to detect a distance between the transport unit and objects surrounding the transport unit. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 8  wherein the central computer system is configured to control the movement of at least one of the plurality of transport units to allow the transport unit to do one of follow a user throughout the shopping facility space and lead the user through the shopping facility space. 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 1  wherein the central computer system is configured to access a shopping facility map database storing one or both of two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional maps of the shopping facility space. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 10  wherein each of the plurality of motorized transport units comprises at least one sensor configured to detect objects within an intended path of movement of the respective motorized transport unit through the shopping facility space. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 1  wherein the central computer system outputs signals to control movement of at least one of the plurality of motorized transport devices, the signals generated based on one or more of: movement instructions determined by the central computer system; commands received at a user interface unit from a user; and commands received at the central computer system from a remote user not located at the shopping facility space. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 1  wherein the central computer system is configured to process a request from a user for use of a motorized transport unit and determine an available motorized transport unit to allocate to the user. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13  further comprising:
 at least one motorized transport unit storage unit configured to store one or more of the plurality of motorized transport units and dispense the available motorized transport unit allocated by the central computer system to the user. 
 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 13  wherein the central computer system is configured to automatically generate a travel route of at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units through the retail facility space based on one or more of: a user provided list of items entered by the user via a user interface unit; user selected route preferences entered by the user via the user interface unit; user profile data received from a user information database; and product availability information from a retail inventory database. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 1  wherein the central computer system is configured to coordinate communications between a user associated with a given motorized transport unit and one or more remote users not located at the shopping facility space. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 1  wherein the central computer system is configured to process a request from a user for a motorized transport unit entered by the user via a user interface unit, determine an available motorized transport unit based on one or more of motorized transport unit location and availability and location of the user. 
     
     
       18. A motorized transport unit for shopping facility personal assistance comprising:
 a housing; 
 a locomotion system configured to move the motorized transport unit through a shopping facility space; 
 a rechargeable power source configured to power the motorized transport unit; 
 a wireless transceiver; and 
 a control unit coupled to the motorized transport system, the rechargeable power source and the wireless receiver, wherein the control unit is configured to:
 communicate with one or both of a central computer system of a shopping facility personal assistance system and a user interface unit of a user that is temporarily associated with the motorized transport unit; and 
 control the locomotion system to control movement of the motorized transport unit through the shopping facility space based at least on commands from the central computer system and inputs from the user interface unit that is temporarily associated with the motorized transport unit. 
 
 
     
     
       19. The motorized transport unit of  claim 18  further comprising a movable item container connected to the housing. 
     
     
       20. The motorized transport unit of  claim 18  wherein the housing comprises a container coupling structure configured to allow the motorized transport unit to detachably connect to a movable item container and move the movable item container through the shopping facility space. 
     
     
       21. A method of shopping facility personal assistance comprising:
 communicating, by a central computer system, with one or both of a plurality of motorized transport units and a plurality of user interface units, wherein the plurality of motorized transport units are located in and configured to move through a shopping facility space; 
 associating each user interface unit with a respective one of the plurality of motorized transport units to support the respective user associated with the respective user interface unit; 
 receiving, at the central computer system, inputs from a first user interface unit of the plurality of user interface units; and 
 controlling, by the central computer system, movement of a first motorized transport unit, of the plurality of motorized transport units, associated with the first user interface unit through the shopping facility space based at least on the inputs from the first user interface unit. 
 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 causing, by the central computer system, one or more of the motorized transport unit to move to a respective one of a plurality of movable item containers and to detachably connect to the respective movable item container, and communicating instructions to cause the one or more of the motorized transport units to move the respective movable item container through the shopping facility space in supporting the respective user temporarily associated with the respective motorized transport unit. 
 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 22 , wherein the causing the one or more of the motorized transport unit to move to the respective one of a plurality of movable item containers comprises causing the one or more of the motorized transport units to move to a position underneath the respective movable item container and extend a portion of respective motorized transport unit upward to engage the respective movable item container and lift a portion of the respective movable item container. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 21  wherein the controlling the movement of the first motorized transport unit comprises receiving instructions from the first user interface unit owned by a first user;
 allocating a shopping facility provided user interface unit, of the plurality of user interface units, to a second user; and 
 controlling, by the central computer system, movement of a second motorized transport unit based on input received from the shopping facility provided user interface unit. 
 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 generating, by the central computer system, control signals based on one or more of: movement instructions determined by the central computer system; commands received at a user interface unit from a user; and commands received at the central computer system from a remote user not located at the shopping facility space; and 
 communicating, by the central computer system, the control signals to control movement of one or more of the plurality of motorized transport units.